Something stinks in NJ and it is not the oil refineries in Elizabeth. A tulip farm in Cream Ridge was told not to allow people to drive through the farm as part of Commissar Murphy’s lockdown order. The farm had had drive-thru’s in past years. People drive through the farm inside their cars to view the awesome display of tulips during its limited blossoming season. It was a way to supplement the income for the farm.
Owner Casey Jansen said he invested almost 1 miilion dollars in planting the bulbs in the fall. Jansen was threatened with arrest if even one car were to drive though his farm for the annual attraction.
Meanwhile, out in Gloucester County, the Dalton Farms annual tulip drive-thru was given a pass by Commissar Murphy’s administration.
Now it makes no sense to ban this activity at either farm. There is zero risk of COVID-19 infection out in rural NJ at either farm. This isn’t selective law enforcement. It’s law enforcement on a whim. Could there be anything else going on here?
Neither farm appears to have donated to the campaign for Governor that put Murphy in charge in NJ. In fact, Dalton Farms, the farm that was allowed to have their drive-thru, appears to be a conservative outfit. They regularly host Civil War re-enactments on their land.
So what else could be going on? Why did one farm receive a message from AG Gurbir Grewal that prohibited the drive thru while the other was allowed to have theirs?
It turns out that Commissar Murphy’s gubernatorial election campaign received some $191,000 from real estate interests. Cream Ridge, where the banned drive-thru exists, has significantly higher land and housing costs than where Dalton Farm is located. In fact, real estate listings for Cream Ridge houses show a median price of about $500,000. Swedesboro, where Dalton Farm is located, shows a median price of a little over $200,000. Clearly one farm is sitting on land that is far more valuable than the other.
This is NJ. Strong arm political tactics were invented here. Monica Showalter noted,
Whatever it is, there is an unmistakable stench around this whole affair. Clearly the rights of Casey Jansen and his family farm were violated by this capricious enforcement of a lockdown order. Perhaps, the DOJ should step in with a civil rights investigation of the governor and his administration.